Jo-Ann Hess

Screenwriter and Voice Artist

Hudson, Ohio

Member Since:
May 2014

Last online:
> 2 weeks ago

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About Jo-Ann

JoAnn is a multi-award-winning screenwriter and producer for film and TV. JoAnn’s work has been optioned and contracted for hire by producers in both the US and UK and currently, has over a dozen projects in various stages of development.

She is a part of Disney’s Creative Talent Development & Inclusion team (CTDI) which connects creative talent with diverse stories to opportunities across Disney General Entertainment Content (DGE).

As the Creative Executive for London Angel Films (UK), JoAnn is responsible for the development of the company’s slate of films. JoAnn works closely with the CEO and Production team reading, providing notes or coverage, and rewriting scripts to ready them for production.

Named as one of the industry’s Most Recommended Writers, she writes dynamic, character-driven stories that examine the struggle of the socially disenfranchised -- the misfits and miscreants -- as they struggle to find their place in unfamiliar or unforgiving worlds.

JoAnn’s scripts have placed in numerous, prestigious award competitions including PAGE Awards, Final Draft’s BIG BREAK, London Film Awards, New Hope Film Festival, and a Torino ScriptLab selection, one of only eight projects in the program.

After spending over a decade in the corporate world as a marketing and international finance manager for a Fortune 500 company, JoAnn took a break when she started her family. She spent the next two decades studying and honing her craft attaining her MASTER SCREENWRITER certification and holds an MBA (Finance) and BA (Economics).

Gender:
Female

Badges

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Credits

Cookster (2022)
Film by SilentD Pictures (Crime, Drama and Family) Writer A dyslexic teen misunderstood by his family, abandoned by the system, and desperate for respect, becomes a drug dealer struggling to balance his addiction and debt to a local gangster while a rival threatens to destroy his world, driving him apart from the woman he loves and a daughter he's never known. (A prequel to the true-life story and film THE DEVIL'S DANDRUFF)
Last Bite (2021)
Film Producer
The Yin Yang and the Treasure (2020)
Film by London Angel Film (Adventure, Family and Fantasy) Writer A young, shy heroine rises amid a war between two Kung Fu training schools where she must learn to harness her elemental powers to stop a malevolent Master from obtaining a lost, centuries-old treasure and prevent the world from being engulfed by a dark evil.
Resurrected (2019)
Film (short) by Affiliated Artists Investment Group (Horror) Writer A grieving couple solicits the aid of a witch to resurrect their dead daughter but the child who appears has more sinister plans.
On Target (2019)
Film Actress
Devil's Dandruff (2016)
Television by The Wayforward Productions, Ltd (Crime and Drama) Screenwriter Based on a true-life story, a young drug dealer's need to support his habit and family leads him deep into the seedy underbelly of an international crime syndicate, where he struggles to get out of a world where no one gets out alive.
Debris (2015)
Film (short) by PraxiScope Productions (Horror) Executive Producer A down-on-his-luck treasure hunter discovers a cursed samurai sword washed ashore a California beach.
Our Father (2014)
Film (short) by Runaway Productions (Drama) Associate Producer An estranged father suffering from late stage dementia, in a fleeting moment, reveals to his son secrets that begin to heal a broken family.
There's No Room for Jugglers in My Circus - The Devil's Dandruff Chronicle
Film by JC Pictures (Crime and Drama) Writer "THERE'S NO ROOM FOR JUGGLERS IN MY CIRCUS (The Devil's Dandruff Chronicle)": Jason (the Cookster), a wayward London youth, seduced by the lure of fast money and unlimited cocaine, becomes a gangster's runner who struggles to survive within London's criminal underworld where his only escape hinges on whether he can kill another to save himself (Adapted from the true-life story and novel "There's No Room for Jugglers in My Circus" by Jason Cook)
Framer
Film by Affiliated Artists Investment Group (Crime and Thriller) Writer An intelligent sales executive seeking moral justification alludes the FBI and local authorities by manipulating those around him in order to disguise his own criminal activities.

View all 10 credits

Awards

CONFECTIONATELY YOURS - Austin Revolution FF, WINNER Best Feature script, Comedy
(2020)
CONFECTIONATELY YOURS - Indie Gathering Int'l FF - 2nd Place Rom/Com
(2020)
RESURRECTED - Indie Gathering Int'l FF - 1st Place, Horror
(2020)
GO ASK ALICE (Pilot) - Austin Revolution FF, Best TV script, Drama
(2019)
GO ASK ALICE (Pilot) - AOF Arthur Rosenfeld Award for Excellence in Dramatic Writing
(2019)
STAR QUEST (pilot) - Big Apple Film Festival, Finalist
(2019)
STAR QUEST (pilot) - Depth of Field FF, Award of Excellence
(2019)
STAR QUEST (pilot) - Rhode Island Int'l FF, Vortex Sci-Fi anf Fantacy Award
(2019)
ZERO-DAY - Screenplay Festival Finalist, Action Adventure
(2019)
GO ASK ALICE (Pilot) - Screenplay Festival Finalist
(2019)
Devil's Dandruff - AOF, Best Script
(2018)
GO ASK ALICE (Pilot) - Austin FF, 2nd Rounder
(2018)
GO ASK ALICE (Pilot) - Austin Revolution Film Festival - Finalist
(2018)
FRAMER - Austin Revolution Film Festival - Finalist
(2018)
FRAMER - Indie Gathering FF - 1st Place, Suspense Thriller
(2018)
Devil's Dandruff - Indie Gathering FF - 1st Place, Crime Drama
(2018)
The Devil's Dandruff - London Film Awards 3rd Place
(2017)
GRANDFELLA - PAGE Finalist
(2017)
GRANDFELLA - Final Draft Big Break Semi-finalist Rom/Com
(2016)
GRANDFELLA - Indie Gathering Overal BEST Feature script
(2016)
GRANDFELLA - Indie Gathering award/1st place Romantic Comedy
(2016)
GRANDFELLA - PAGE Semifinalist
(2016)
NAUGHTY OR NICE - Screenplay Festival - FINALIST
(2014)
NAUGHTY OR NICE - New Hope Film Festival - WINNER - Best Comedy Script
(2014)